RNA-based therapeutics: current progress and future prospects.

ABSTRACT: Recent advances of biological drugs have broadened the scope of therapeutic targets for a variety of human diseases. This holds true for dozens of RNA-based therapeutics currently under clinical investigation for diseases ranging from genetic disorders to HIV infection to various cancers. These emerging drugs, which include therapeutic ribozymes, aptamers, and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), demonstrate the unprecedented versatility of RNA. However, RNA is inherently unstable, potentially immunogenic, and typically requires a delivery vehicle for efficient transport to the targeted cells. These issues have hindered the clinical progress of some RNA-based drugs and have contributed to mixed results in clinical testing. Nevertheless, promising results from recent clinical trials suggest tha

SUBMITTER: Burnett JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3269031 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature